itsmylife: Germany 4 (A very long way).

Thursday 9th May. Otterndorf. Day off. I'd had a look at the forecast the previous evening, not good, wet and windy. A leisurly breakfast and several coffees (while they were free) and it was time for a look around the village. The main square was a bit of a building site, new paved areas and cobbled sections were partly done, nothing hapening today though, It's Father's Day, Sunday routine! Was planning to sit in the sun with a brew but there was still that chilly N wind taking the edge off things. By early afternoon the weather was breaking and beginning to look a bit more promising for a day or so.

The Otters of Otterndorf

<The Rathaus and Ratskeller!!

Ratskeller (German: "council's cellar", historically Rathskeller) is a name in German-speaking countries for a bar or restaurant located in the basement of a city hall (Rathaus) or nearby.

The Teahaus

A stork on the roof! Must signify something!?

Strudel with cream and ice cream, and a cappuccino!
What a deal!!

The cake, coffee and strudel shop

A monument to the workers

Otterendorf DJH

Friday 10th May. Otterndorf - Sankt Margarethen. Sunny but still cool. I had the kit well sorted, all urgent stuff washed and dried, even had the bike loaded pre breakfast.

What's on for brekkie?

Fed and watered I pedalled off a few minutes after 0800 heading E to Freiburg then SE to Hamelworden and the Elbe ferry to Gluckstadt. The ride was much like other days, initially nice smooth tarmac, riding into the rising sun alongside a canal, then concrete slab back roads interspersed with narrower concrete trails usually covered in varying amounts of sheep droppings. One occurance brightened the day though, near Neuhauserdeich was a bridge crossing a tributary of the Elbe. Roughly 1km to the bridge, approaching I could see the bridge was 'open' literally! Got to the bridge, a sign saying 'Bridge open all day Fritag' was tied to the barrier!! I'm sure this 'sense of humour' thing is getting out of hand!!

The bridge wot woz open!

Street in Freiburg

Ferry crossing the Elbe to Gluckstadt

Arrived at the ferry 1315, trucks were unloading followed by a few cars, motorbikes and a couple of cycles. It must take hours to get through even though there were three ferry boats operating. Off the ferry and a short back street pedal to the Hostel. Full!!! How dare they!! Don't they know who I am?? Ah well, off to the Tourist info office. A very helpful young lady sorted a couple of maps out for me, while her sidekick was waxing lyrical about how beautiful Skye and Edinburgh were when she was there last year. For a 2.5 Euro fee they would do all the search and phoning to find accommodation for you, which I thought was a pretty reasonable deal. It was beginning to look a bit bleak for a bed in Gluckstadt, so I asked how big an area did they cover? It looked as though they were almost into the next big town of Brunsbuttel, their patch just including St. Margarethen, she had a quick look through one of her lists and came up with two names, first call got an answer, "An apartment, yes, same price, no problem". Another windswept 15k, a couple of minutes trying to make sense of a google maps print out then asking in the local SPAR. Rather than mess around, when she realised my German was abysmal the lady who was just leaving with her groceries took my arm, pointed to the bike and said "Come!", The bike wouldn't have dared not to!! About 150mtrs, round the corner, past the hotel and left. She even knocked the door and introduced me, probably as the pudding who couldn't find his way over 150mtrs while clutching a map!! But she smiled nicely while she said it.
Antje (pronounced Anthea) helped me off load my bike, showed me where to stow the bike out of the rain which had just started, then helped carry some of my bags up to the appartment. She just couldn't do enough, rushed off to make a pot of coffee, came back (plus coffee) with a list of stuff available for breakfast. When she asked did I want jam, marmalade, chocolate spread or honey? And before I could answer said "I'll put them all on!!. She and her husband had done quite a bit of cycle touring in the past but work, kids and life had got in the way! "Maybe again soon" she said wistfully.